In today’s world, with the fastest growing technological advancements and innovations, people tend to resort to the internet for every single need. Religious faith is also something sought for in the internet medium. Overtime, there are over 28 million users (according to the renowned online portal www.pewinternet.org) who use the internet to gain religious and spiritual information and connect with others on their faith journeys. These people can be classified as “religious surfers”.
A Matter of Faith
Studies conducted on religious surfers and the internet, it shows that the internet has powers to change even the thought process of the followers. Many people strongly believe the internet could influence the lives of the religious surfers. According to a study by the PewResearch Center, 64% of the religion surfers are using the Internet to find educational or study materials to renew faith and very few (2%) believe that Internet acts as a practice of faith.
The Power of Prayer
Around 85% of the religion surfers believe that prayer and meditation are “very important” even though spiritual practice is not altered by the Internet. The availability of online resources may have other effects at times. Some people recognize seeking online spiritual guidance to have increased their own commitment to their faith. Some of the users at different online spiritual community reinforces the power of prayer have doubled with the support from the spiritual guides.
The Impact on Themselves
The active seekers of religious faith on the internet will agree that continuous usage of online spiritual communities like Oranum and other internet spiritual communities confirms the use of Internet increases their commitment to their faith as they experience impacts directly from gaining guidance from their spiritual guides.
The Impact on Others
Interestingly, a notable portion of religion surfers are quite optimistic about the effect of the Internet on others. Most of the online spiritual communities also help users find others like themselves sharing the same level of religious beliefs ensures connectivity amongst likeminded individuals. The biggest benefit of connecting with likeminded individuals is that they also help identify the right people to seek guidance from.
The Internet and Spiritual Communities
In addition to the potential benefits and harms the internet poses to individuals, the growth of online spiritual communities is fast helping the religious surfers find solutions from qualified spiritual guides. Online spiritual communities provide various benefits to the users by connecting the religious surfer with qualified and gifted spiritual guides.
The Internet brings a variety of benefits to different religious surfers. To those surfers already highly engaged in their faiths and with a predilection for surfing, the Internet provides materials that reinforce faith and also affect surfing habits. To those individuals who are engaged in faith communities, it brings new possibilities for members to work together, and reinforcing bonds make the community strong. Those people who remain outside religious communities, but also want to pursue spiritual needs, the private practice is the answer.
